The processors and other components of modern personal computers generate significant amounts of heat in operation and therefore require cooling. Generally, a fan is provided in the computer housing which provides a forced air flow within the housing. Individual components, such as the processor chip itself, which generate significant amounts of heat can be provided with heatsinks for dissipating heat generated by the component. Sometimes, the processor chip itself is cooled by the use of a fan heatsink, in which a fan is mounted on a heatsink on the processor package to blow air across the heatsink.
A variety of duct and baffle arrangements have been proposed and used to manage and direct a cooling airflow within computer housings. Examples of such arrangements can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,432,674, published PCT application WO 96/01035 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,422,787.
Whilst the use of a forced air flow can provide effective cooling, the fan necessarily generates undesirable noise.
The object of this invention is to reduce the noise generated by a cooling fan mounted in a stand-alone computer unit.